by admin | Dec 1, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducing
A Wild Goose Chase ChristmasAbingdon Press (November 2012)
by
Jennifer AlLeeABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A Word from Jennifer:
As I look back on my life, it’s interesting to see where God’s taken me, and where I took myself that God pulled me out of. I finally got back to writing, the dream of my heart. Since 1996, I’ve published numerous short stories, devotions and plays. I’ve also been active in church drama ministries, another passion of mine. My first novel, The Love of His Brother (November 2007, Five Star Publishers), was followed by The Pastor’s Wife (February 2010, Abingdon Press) and The Mother Road (April 2012). A Wild Goose Chase Christmas is book two in the new Quilts of Love series.
Besides being a writer, I am a wife and mom. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, my family has learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets here without severely impacting our waistlines. God is good!
Learn more about Jennifer and her books on her Blog.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Upon her grandmother’s death, Izzy Fontaine finds herself in possession of a Wild Goose Chase pattern quilt that supposedly leads to a great treasure.
Of course, once the rest of the family finds out about the “treasure map,” they’re determined to have a go at the treasure themselves. And, if that weren’t enough, Max Logan, a local museum curator, contacts Izzy and says that Grandma Isabella promised him the quilt.
What is it about this quilt that makes everyone want it? Is Izzy on a wild goose chase of her own, or a journey that will lead her to the treasure her grandmother intended?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
The story related in A Wild Goose Chase Christmas is exactly what the title says. When Izzy’s grandmother died, she left Izzy a family quilt along with a note that indicated that the quilt would lead to a treasure. Not sure exactly what the note meant, Izzy put the quilt aside until it seemed that everyone wanted her quilt. One of the people wanting the quilt was Max Logan, a museum curator who claimed that Izzy’s grandmother had given the quilt to him. Despite her misgivings as to Max’s motives, Izzy found herself becoming attracted to the genuinely caring person he seemed to be.
As Izzy and Max worked together to discover the meanings of clues left by her grandmother, one after another complication rose to challenge them. But as they persisted, they and Izzy’s mother and brother found exactly the treasure their grandmother hoped they would find.
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas is a fun read especially suitable for the Christmas season with its message of faith, family and restored relationships. A bit of romance doesn’t hurt either.
by admin | Nov 16, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Too Far To Say Far EnoughDavid C. Cook; New edition (October 1, 2012)
by
Nancy RueABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In 1980, Rue took a leave of absence from teaching and took on writing as a nine-to-five job. Although it quickly became apparent that she could starve to death that way, that didn’t stop her: she spent fifteen years getting up at 4:00 a.m. to write before going off to teach school, until she was finally able to pursue freelance writing full-time in 1995.
“I am living a God-directed life,” says the author: “doing what I was meant to do, what I love to, what allows me to give what I’ve been given. I spend as much of my time teaching, filling my well, hanging out with the people I love, as I do writing, and that has made all the difference.”
Rue has become a successful, best-selling author of books for ‘tweens and adults. Over her career she’s written more than 100 books. For a complete list of adult fiction, click here. For ‘tween books, click here.
Nancy travels the country speaking and teaching at schools, churches, home school groups, and for groups of ‘tween girls and their moms. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Jim. Their daughter, Marijean, son-in-law, Brian, and baby granddaughter Maeryn, live in nearby Nashville. The Rues’ two yellow Labs share (and eat) Jim and Nancy’s home.
Learn more about Nancy and her books on her Website
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Allison Chamberlain has done everything God required of her—but as He continues to nudge her in the third and final book of The Reluctant Prophet series, she is ready to say, “Enough!”
Even with two Sacrament Houses open, the Sisters’ second hand clothing boutique making its debut, and the orphaned Desmond legally adopted, Allison Chamberlain receives the divine Nudge to Go another mile. Eventually responding with her usual reluctant obedience, she finds herself caring for a very young prostitute and facing the deepest roots of evil. Despite the adversaries who threaten those closest to her, Allison finds that she has not gone far enough until she conquers hate and learns to love as God does. No matter what the consequences.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Too Far To Say Far Enough, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Too Far To Say Far Enough is the third book in Nancy Rue’s The Reluctant Prophet series. The publisher was generous enough to send all three books of the series but I did not have the time to read the first two before my review deadline for this one. Although the book was able to stand on its own as a complete story, I did feel that I lost a lot by not knowing the back-story. I hope to find the time during the next month to go back to the others to help fill in the blanks.
Allison Chamberlain is a character who seems to fill most of her time involved with, taking care of, and even risking her life for the types of people most of us shy away from. She is a person who has grown accustomed to receiving “nudges” from God and although she would sometimes like to ignore them, she almost always follows through – sometimes without careful thought and planning. So Allison sometimes ends up in some pretty sticky situations but somehow always seems to land on her feet. Could it be that obedience earns protection?
Too Far To Say Far Enough is populated with quite a few characters – the women Allison works with, her newly adopted son, an adult son she is just getting to know, a nemesis from the past, a young girl in need of protection, a love interest, a helpful police officer, and various others. The story itself moved at a good pace with enough action and dialogue to keep it interesting. I liked the fact that although Allison is an excellent example of ministry in action, she was not portrayed as perfect but was shown in her true humanity with all her flaws, weaknesses, and fears. This was an excellent book and well worth the read. I would suggest reading the entire series in order to get the most benefit from it.
by admin | Nov 14, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Spiritural Warfare, Supernatural, Suspense
MY REVIEW:
“Darkness Rising” is a fast-paced, suspense-filled book that held my interest until the very end. I personally thought that the plot and characters were very well developed. The topic of spiritual warfare was covered in a style that brought Frank Peretti’s earliest novels to my mind yet the material was original and had no indication that is was a “copy cat”.
Sequel to Wiehl’s “Waking Hours”, the first of the East Salem trilogy, “Darkness Rising” raises the stakes as the evil powers of darkness continue to escalate. Dani Harris and Tommy Gunderson find themselves in the fight of their lives as they attempt to find and stop who or what has released this malevolent plague upon the town. A classic tale of good and evil that involves humans, angels, and demons, “Waking Hours” is one book that you will want to read with all the lights on. I recommend it to all who enjoy a good supernatural suspense.
This book was provided for review by BookSneeze.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The evil in East Salem is no longer content to hide in the shadows. The stakes—and the darkness—are rising.
Dani Harris thought there wasn’t much left that could surprise her after serving as a forensic psychiatrist in East Salem. And Tommy Gunderson has faced few challenges in his life that he couldn’t overcome by either physical strength or his celebrity status.
But as they race to uncover what’s really happening behind the high walls of St. Adrian’s Academy, it becomes clear that supernatural forces have been at work here for generations. And now their focus is on making sure Dani and Tommy don’t interfere.
When the unseen becomes seen, faith is the only weapon strong enough to fight in a battle involving not just murder and betrayal—but angels and demons.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Lis Wiehl is one of the nation’s most prominent trial lawyers and highly regarded commentators. Currently, she is the legal analyst and reporter on the Fox News Channel and Bill O’Reilly’s sparring partner in the weekly “Is It Legal?” segment on The O’Reilly Factor. Prior to that she was O’Reilly’s co-host on the nationally syndicated show The Radio Factor. She is also a Professor of Law at New York Law School. Her column “Lis on Law” appears weekly on FoxNews.com.
Prior to joining Fox News Channel in New York City, Wiehl served as a legal analyst and reporter for NBC News and NPR’s All Things Considered. Before that, Wiehl served as a Federal Prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s office.
Wiehl earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and her Master of Arts in Literature from the University of Queensland.
Wiehl is also the author of The 51% Minority, which won the 2008 award for Books for a Better Life in the motivational category, and Winning Every Time.
She lives with her husband and two children in New York.
Pete Nelson lives with his wife and son in Westchester, New York. He got his MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1979 and has written both fiction and non-fiction for magazines, including Harpers, Playboy, Esquire, MS, Outside, The Iowa Review, National Wildlife, Glamour, Redbook. He was a columnist for Mademoiselle and a staff writer for LIVE Magazine, covering various live events including horse pulls, music festivals, dog shows, accordion camps and arm wrestling championships. Recently he was a contributing editor and feature writer for Wondertime, a Disney parenting magazine. He’s published twelve young adult novels, including a six-book series about a girl named Sylvia Smith-Smith which earned him an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. His young adult non-fiction WWII history, Left For Dead (Randomhouse, 2002) about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis won the 2003 Christopher award as was named to the American Library Association’s 2003 top ten list. His other non-fiction titles include Real Man Tells All (Viking, 1988), Marry Like a Man (NAL, l992), That Others May Live (Crown, 2000) and Kidshape (Rutledge Hill, 2004). His novel The Christmas List was published by Rutledge Hill Press in 2004. He wrote, with former army counterintelligence agent Dave DeBatto, a four book series of military thrillers, including CI: Team Red (2005), CI: Dark Target (2006), CI: Mission Liberty (2006) and CI: Homeland Threat (2007) published by Time-Warner. A More Unbending Battle; The Harlem Hellfighters’ Struggle for Democracy in WWI and Equality at Home, was published in 2009 by Basic Civitas books. His novel, I Thought You Were Dead, will be published by Algonquin in 2010. He also has two CDs out on the Signature Sounds label, the first entitled The Restless Boys Club (1996), the second called Days Like Horses (2000).
by admin | Nov 2, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Thousand Sleepless Nights
Realms (October 16, 2012)
by
Michael KingABOUT THE AUTHOR:
When Mike Dellosso won a one-year battle with colon cancer he set out to help readers of his books discover it before they had to go through what he experienced.
“I want others to avoid what I had to go through,” he says. “It was an experience that taught me a lot about myself, others, and God, but one I wouldn’t want to repeat. If I can help even one person battling this disease, it would have been worth it.”
Mike set about writing a novel quite different from what his fan base had come to expect from him. Not a thriller, but a character-driven novel, so he wrote it under a pen name, Michael King, and entitled it A Thousand Sleepless Nights. His publisher, Charisma Media, went for it and the first copies went on sale in October.
Mike’s next step was to determine whether a partnership between him, Charisma Media, and the Colon Cancer Alliance was possible. This month both announced their cooperative fundraising venture, with Charisma Media making a significant contribution to CCA and Mike committing a portion of the proceeds from the book through December to CCA.
Speaking about A Thousand Sleepless Nights Mike says, “I want people to see colon cancer (and all the other cancers) for the monster it is, but also to show it does not need to defeat us. There is hope, there is strength, and there is courage and love. And though cancer may rob us of our physical vitality, it has no power over our spirit.”
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In the 1970s, escaping a home where he knew nothing but violence and hate, Jim Harding found work, and love, on the largest horse ranch in Virginia. The object of his affections, Nena St. Claire, is the daughter of the owner—a man who ruled his ranch with an iron fist and would do whatever it took to keep Nena and Jim apart.
Against the wishes of her family, Nena marries Jim, and after her father dies, she sacrifices everything—including her family—to keep the ranch alive. Now their three grown children have lives of their own and want nothing to do with Nena. She was never the mother they needed.
When cancer strikes and Nena is given a devastating diagnosis, can Jim reconcile the family before it is too late?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Thousand Sleepless Nights, go HERE.
by admin | Oct 31, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Beyond the Storm
Abingdon Press (October 2012)
by
Carolyn ZaneABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Author of 35 books, wife, mother and yes…hot (flasher) lives with her fabulous husband, Matt and their 5 children and 3 dogs in the scenic Willamette Valley in Oregon. When asked to describe her family, Carolyn likens her crowd to the
Brangelia Bunch saying modestly, “Only we’re better looking.” Right now,Carolyn is back in the saddle with her new title: Beyond The Storm, coming out in October 2012! In the mean time, be sure to catch her on the critically acclaimed TOOHOTMAMAS Blog where Carolyn and Wendy tackle Marriage, motherhood and menopause: How to do all three and stay out of prison! They are hilarious! You’ll wet yourself, guaranteed! Visit them at: www.toohotmamas.wordpress.com.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
After a tornado rips through her town, salon owner Abigail comes across a piece of fabric from a wedding dress in the rubble. Abigail is moved to start collecting other swatches of fabric she finds—her neighbor’s kitchen curtains, a man’s necktie, a dog’s bed—and stashes them in shopping bags. As she pursues her seemingly absurd quest, horrible realities spark the question, “What kind of a God would allow such tragedy?”
As she struggles to reconcile her right to happiness in light of the destruction, Abigail helps piece together a patchwork quilt from the salvaged fabric in the hope that it will bring some peace. But a new relationship with Justin, a contractor, may require too much of her fragile heart. Will her pain and questions of faith give way to the courage to love?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Beyond the Storm, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
As far as I am aware, I have never read one of Carolyn Zane’s books. After having the opportunity to read and review Beyond the Storm, I will happily read more of her books in the future. Broken down into three main sections – before, during, and after the storm, this novel almost made me feel as if I were right there experiencing the storm with its characters. The characters are so well developed that they seemed like friends by the end of the book.
Although I have never experienced a direct tornado, I am in an area that has its share of warnings and I have seen more than one funnel cloud that came way too close. We also live close enough to have witnessed the aftermath of more than one tornado in our general area. I thought the author did a remarkable job of describing what it must be like to go through such a horrendous experience.
The romance between Abigail and Justin seemed natural although it developed quickly. It was a good example of how tragedy can often reveal the true inner person and also how shared disaster can bring people closer together. Abigail’s Aunt Selma was a pivotal character who loved, encouraged, and guided many of the other characters to make the right choices for their lives. I loved the way that the disaster brought out the best in people who came together to help their neighbors and to rebuild their town.
Beyond the Storm is a suspense-filled story that has just enough levity to keep it from becoming too heavy. It also contains a timely lesson for those of us who question why God allows tragedy in the lives of those who love and follow Him.
by admin | Oct 31, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Historical, Romance, WWII
MY REVIEW:
The storyline of “Tangled Ashes” vacillates between modern day Lamorlaye, France and it’s World War 2 history during the Nazi occupation of France. Each section is set primarily in the ancient castle of Lamorlaye with its modern tale focusing on the renovation of the castle and the historical narrative about the Nazi’s use of the castle as a maternity hospital for the women who were to bear the perfect children for Germany’s future. For most of the book, the only connection evident between the two eras was the common location but as the story neared the end the relationship became more clear.
The primary character, Marshall Becker was a most unpleasant fellow – angry, rude, an alcoholic, and thoroughly unlikeable. Although he improved somewhat by the end, I was never able to develop much sympathy for him and his problems. Jade may have been a more likeable person but I didn’t feel that I learned quite enough about her personal feelings to identify with her either. The history of the castle was interesting as far as it went but I would have liked that story to have been expanded a bit more. Overall the book had a lot going for it but I personally felt that it did not quite reach its full potential. I am certain that this is largely due to my own preferences and not any shortcomings of the author.
This book was provided for review by Handlebar Marketing.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember. The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and acts of vandalism.
Populated with a cast of complex characters, “Tangled Ashes” follows Becker’s exploration of the castle’s shadowy past as he seeks to cope with an unbearable present. From the virtually mute recluse who lives in the gatehouse to the feisty and enigmatic nanny of the owner’s children, every one of the château’s inhabitants seems to have something to hide and something to survive—but none more so than Becker himself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in France to an American mother and a Canadian father, Michele Phoenix is an international writer with multi-cultural sensitivities. A graduate of Wheaton College, she taught writing, music, and theater at the boarding school for missionaries’ children she attended in Germany as a teenager. She currently works for Global Outreach Mission as an advocate for Third Culture Kids, helping them transition back into North American culture and educating stateside churches and missions about the special needs of this people group. Michele lives in Wheaton, Illinois. Visit www.michelephoenix.com for more information.
